Whose Voice Will You Follow?

Obedience. Duty. Obligation. If we're honest with ourselves, those words don't sound like a lot of fun. We like to describe our interaction with God as a love relationship. We say, "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion." And I think we mean well. We mean that we don't get access to God by the things we do. Instead, God related to us - loved us and loves us - first (1 John 4:19). 

“We love because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:19

But “Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship,” isn’t the whole truth. While we don't merit salvation by our works, Christianity is a religion. To be sure, it's more than a religion but it's not less. We are held accountable to obey God, because Christ bought us at the price of His blood. We are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Since we belong to Christ, who is our Lord, we must obey Him. And it's this same principle that we see in the Old Testament. Turn with me to 1 Samuel 15, and let's see how this plays out. Read along as we explore it together. 

One question you may encounter in your relationships with non-believers is this: Why would God command Israel to wipe out entire nations of people, including babies and children? While at face value this is a shocking question, the text gives us answers. When Israel left Egypt, free from slavery, the Amalekites fought against them without provocation (Exodus 17:8-16). God promised that He would blot out the memory of the nation from the earth, and centuries later, that promise reached its fulfillment. Or at least, it was supposed to. God commanded Saul, the first king of Israel, to completely wipe out the Amalek people for what they had done to His chosen people (Genesis 12:3). Being that it was God who made Saul king over Israel, accomodating Israel's desire to be like all the other nations, God had the right to command Saul to do this.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:3

But Saul failed. He kept the king and the best animals alive, saying he could sacrifice the animals to God. Samuel, the intermediary through whom God spoke, clues us (Romans 15:4) into the heart of God: Obedience to the word of the Lord is better than sacrifice.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Romans 15:4

Let me rephrase that: it's better to follow the command of the Lord than to offer up sacrifices in vain. God wants us to follow His voice. Do you want to please the Lord? Then do what he says. Don't nullify His word by your excuses (Mark 7:10-13). They won't make you acceptable in His sight.

“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

Mark 7:10-13

Something that I find interesting about this text is Saul's admission that he obeyed the people (1 Samuel 15:24). We aren't given any details about what that looked like, but it raises another key point: we are to obey God, not man. As I read this text, I think to myself that Saul struggled with the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man lays a snare, but He who trusts in the Lord is safe. Who knew whst might have happened had Saul obeyed God completely? Yet his fear of people cost him: the one whom God had chosen to be king, He now rejected. 

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”

Proverbs 29:25

In Galatians 1:10, Paul - a Benjaminite like King Saul - writes, “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Paul, too, was a people pleaser. I am as well, and maybe you are too. So what changed for Paul? How was he different from his relative? 

He set as his goal to please God, not people (2 Corinthians 5:9). He was determined to listen to His voice and to do what He said to do. And what did this mean for Paul? It meant the spreading of the gospel, even in prison. It meant writing a good portion of the New Testament. 

“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”

2 Corinthians 5:9

But what did following the voice of the people mean for King Saul? As stated before, it meant, tragically, that God rejected him. Saul had neglected, or forgotten, this important truth: it was God who had made him king, and thus it was God who had the right to remove him.

Whose voice will you follow? Will you follow the voice of people who are fickle, who lie, who do evil thinking that God cannot see them? Or will you follow the voice of the God who is faithful to His word, who is not unjust to forget the work you have done for him? (Hebrews 6:10). 

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

Hebrews 6:10

Finally, we must understand that sins have consequences beyond us. We know that Samuel killed King Agag, but it is possible that other Amalekites were not destroyed. Why do I say this? In the book of Esther, we see the Jewish people in exile, and two main characters, Esther and Mordecai, are Benjaminites. Haman the Agagite is possibly a descendant of this king, and he sets out to destroy all of Esther's people for failure to pay him homage. Of course, we know how the story ends. Haman and his ten sons die, and the Jews are protected by God's hand. But imagine what might have happened had Saul obeyed God completely. The story may never even have happened.

The book of 1st John says that God's commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). By His Spirit in us, we have the ability and desire to obey God. Sister, today I encourage you to walk by the Spirit. Fear God, who can destroy your body and soul in hell, but has mercifully not done so, and not man, who has breath in his nostrils (Matthew 10:28; Isaiah 2:22). Obey completely knowing there are consequences for both obedience and disobedience that extends beyond you.

“Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?”

Isaiah 2:22

You are never alone as you walk this walk of faith.